Before New York played the Timberwolves in Minnesota on Friday, Carmelo Anthony was apparently the target of a trash-talking fan who followed Anthony into the arena to make sure his harassing comments were heard loud and clear by the Knicks All-Star.

Carmelo Anthony was confronted by a trash-talking Timberwolves fan entering the Target Center last night who harassed him about Kevin Garnett and followed Anthony to the Knicks’ locker room. Garnett played 12 seasons in Minnesota.

The fan snuck by security when the Knicks players filed into the arena. He yelled at Anthony, “KG, KG. You don’t know who Kevin Garnett is?’’

Anthony appeared ruffled, shouting back, “Why are you following me? Why are you following me?’’ before ducking into the locker room. The fan was immediately kicked out of the building by arena and Knicks security but was not arrested.

The fan’s words were obviously a reference to Anthony waiting at the bus to speak with Garnett after a game between the Knicks and Celtics earlier this season — an incident which resulted in Anthony receiving a one-game suspension for his actions.

The fact that this occurred at all is extremely disappointing, however, and not just because some idiot felt the need to try to personally engage a professional basketball player in this type of nonsense.

Security at the arenas varies wildly from city to city, and it’s something that should be standardized and regulated by the league for all 30 NBA teams. This is the second time this season where fans have gotten close enough to interact with an NBA personality by easily gaining access to areas that are supposed to be impossible to reach without the proper credentials.